Regions of Switzerland

4 destinations

Bern region

The canton of Bern does not resolve into a single image. In the north, the old city: a UNESCO World Heritage Site built on a loop of the Aare. In the south, the Bernese Oberland, where the valleys climb toward the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau.

3 destinations

Central Switzerland

Lake Lucerne sits at the geographical and historical center of Switzerland. Its name, Vierwaldstättersee, the lake of the four forest cantons, maps the four founding cantons that surround it. The country's name derives from Schwyz, on its eastern shore. The founding pact of 1291 was sworn at Rütli Meadow on its southern bank. The lake extends into four arms, each a different valley, each a different pace.

3 destinations

Eastern Switzerland & Alpstein

Eastern Switzerland runs from the Rhine Falls near Schaffhausen in the north to the Alpstein massif in the south, with Lake Constance marking the border to the east. The Säntis, highest point of the Alpstein at 2,502 metres, carries a weather station that has been operating since 1882. St. Gallen holds a UNESCO-listed abbey at its centre. Appenzell, divided into two half-cantons since 1597, sits directly at the foot of the mountains.

3 destinations

Geneva Region

2 destinations

Graubüden & Engadin

Graubünden covers 7,105 square kilometres, a sixth of Switzerland's total area. German, Romansh, and Italian share the schools and the street signs, making it the country's only trilingual canton. The Engadin runs 90 kilometres from the Maloja Pass at 1,800 metres down toward Austria, following the Inn river from its source. The Swiss National Park, the only one in Switzerland, occupies 170 square kilometres near Zernez, established in 1914 and left entirely to itself since.

5 destinations

Jura & three lakes region

Northwest Switzerland between the French border and the foot of the Alps. Three lakes, a long ridge of hills, medieval towns, and vineyards that rarely travel far from where they're grown.

3 destinations

Ticino

South of the Alps, the language changes, the light softens, and the pace drops to something almost Mediterranean.

4 destinations

Valais

High peaks, ancient valleys, and villages that have been slowing people down for centuries.

6 destinations

Zürich & North Switzerland

A region that runs from a lake city to a river border, from Roman baths to the largest waterfall in Europe. Zürich is the anchor, but the quieter towns to the north hold as much, with fewer people to share them with.